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Well 8 to be put in standby mode in June

Tuesday, May 6, 2014 - 4:43pm

Madison, WI – May 6, 2014 Madison Water Utility will bring Well 8 on the east side back online in mid-June and will put the well on standby mode, ready to meet increased demand during the summer months if needed.

Every summer – usually in July – the seasonal well is brought online in standby mode, its reservoir filled and refreshed periodically and its water ready to run into the distribution system if necessary. This summer, another well on the east side will be down for repairs, so we are bringing Well 8 online early. Should there be a large fire on the east side, very dry weather, or a problem with another well in the area, water from Well 8 will likely be put into the distribution system.

Well 8 became the focus of neighborhood concern after a chemical called PCE was found in shallow groundwater at the nearby Madison Kipp Corporation property. Monitoring conducted by Madison Kipp shows that trace amounts of PCE are within 600 feet of Well 8, part of a larger contamination plume extending from the property.

It’s important to note that no PCE has ever been found in the water at Well 8, and it is extremely unlikely that running the well over the summer will draw contamination into the well. While the contamination plume is in the upper aquifer, Well 8 is much deeper – some 774 feet – and draws water primarily from the lower aquifer below a natural barrier known as the Eau Claire Shale.

Madison Water Utility will work with the DNR to increase our monitoring make sure PCE contamination does not enter our water while Well 8 is online.